*An asterisk means that a link is an affiliate link, and purchases made through it may earn me a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting this site!

Stop Motion Animation for Kids Using a DSLR

The Animate It software is incredibly easy to use, but the camera that comes with the kit is your typical webcam-quality camera. So I put my DSLR camera on my tripod, and gave the kids my camera remote control* so they could take pictures without actually touching the camera (side note: I did try one of the cheap no-name remote controls before buying this one, but it worked very inconsistently so I finally paid the money for a brand name one). This was key to making the movies work, since touching the camera the image around. It also meant I didn’t have to worry about the safety of my camera as much.

I couldn’t get my camera to communicate with the Animate It software, so we downloaded Windows Live Movie Maker (it’s free) and used that instead. It is pretty easy to use, and I am sure we aren’t coming anywhere near making full use of its capabilities.

Here is Johnny’s first movie:

My personal favorite:

One featuring a ceramic alligator he made in school:

And Emma’s first movie:

There is a lot left for them to learn, but they have a nice start on learning a new skill!

Have you tried stop motion with your kids yet? Do you have any videos your kids have made? Please share with us in the comments below, or on my Facebook page. You can also tag me on Instagram. Sign up for my newsletter to receive book recommendations, crafts, activities, and parenting tips in your inbox every week.

Trackbacks

[…] Mama Smiles shares a great post about using a DSLR to practice stop motion animation. This is the technology part of stem if I have ever seen it. Have fun with this one for use! Check out the post at Mama Smiles. […]